Wakefield Trinity Wildcats: Kirmond ‘fine’ ahead of Bulls clash

The match at Belle Vue will decide the 12th and final team to play in Super League next year. Kirmond returned from a three-month lay-off in the 24-10 defeat at Sheffield Eagles two days ago and he said: “I think the plan was to come on after about 20 minutes, but unfortunately we got an early injury so I came on after about five. I got some good minutes under my belt. Obviously performance-wise and result-wise it wasn’t ideal, but it was good to get those minutes and hopefully push for selection for the big game this week. The shoulder feels fine and it was good to dust the lungs off. It has been a long time since I’ve played and there were a few nerves before the game. I’ve only had just over a week of contact training so it was important to get out there and test it. It felt good and I’m looking forward to this week.”

Of his performance, Kirmond said: “I felt good. The lungs felt good, but it’s hard to think about my performance when we’ve lost the game. I thought Sheffield were good, they showed a great deal of enthusiasm and desire for one another. I think a lot of their players are moving on at the end of the season and it showed how much it meant to those boys. We have to dust ourselves down really quickly now and prepare for Saturday.”